All stories about "Moscow"

BMW has installed a billboard in Moscow that's covered in life-size cars. Advertisers have been sticking large size objects on billboards for a while now, but what's crazy about this sign is its size. The billboard holds an entire fleet of cars and is said to be over 65,000 square feet. [via]

Moscow may have long been known for its traditional Russian spas, but these days the city is "moving beyond the banya" and now has a number of modern spas. Turns out the Russian spa phenomenon isn't just beneficial for appearance and general health; it may have actually helped prevent the plague. As the Moscow Times puts it, "unlike Catholic Europe, where taking care of the body was taboo, Russians paid great attention to their physical as well as their spiritual health. That's why the plague never had a chance to spread in Russia." [Moscow Times]

Given Bravo's success with first The Real Housewives of Orange County (now three seasons strong) as well as the recently launched spinoff, The Real Housewives of New York, Radar wonders which city's social set will be the show's next subject. Their guess: Moscow, with a pilot featuring a fundraiser at the Kremlin, and "the wives wonder[ing] what Mikhail Baryshnikov is like between the sheets." [Radar]

London's Royal Academy of Art sparked controversy after including "stolen" Russian art in its recent "From Russia" exhibition. The issue is one that's commonly plagued the international art community since the end of World War II. A total of 46,000 artworks have been catalogued and declared missing from Russian state museums since 1945. But considering Russian state museums have likewise kept stolen art, or art taken as reparations during the war, it seems to be a case of the pot calling the kettle black. [Moscow Times]

Believe it or not, a free market is the only way to fend off a whore shortage. Author Anne Applebaum argues that Moscow's reputation for gorgeous women generally and do-able streetwalkers in particular is thanks to the country's market opening up in the 1990s. Unfortunately, in the regulation-crazed, United States, "the dazzling lustful hippie girls of the Great Society era in the 1960s and 1970s gave way to the sexless-post Reaganomics American woman of today: fat-ankled, bitter, a bottle of Prozac in one hand and a jackrabbit vibrator in the other ..." [Exile]

When Krasnaya Shapochka opened in 2000, it was Moscow's first strip club that exclusively offered male dancers. At the time, it faced outraged politicians who attempted to interfere with local ladies' right to ogle hot studs. Today, Krasnaya Shapochka, which strangely translates to "Little Red Riding Hood," is an extremely popular lounge featuring over 50 dancers. Russian nightlife is far from tame, but when Salon took a look at the club a year after it opened in 2001 on Tverskaya Ulitsa ("central Moscow's seedy main street"), the establishment was already facing trouble from city officials.

In brief (nyuck), here's an old gent doing the polar bear swim thing in Moscow who gets his ass stuck to the ice. The poor fellow sat down on the frost after paddling laps around an icy lake, and to his dismay, found his posterior frozen in place when he tried to stand. A helpful friend freed him by lifting him up and lightly ripping his most sensitive regions. The dialogue is all Russian, so I'm not entirely sure whether this is just an unfortunate accident, or a how-to on giving yourself a cheap Brazilian wax without the heat.

So you never quite realized that dream of being an astronaut. And you'll probably be long dead before anyone actually launches a program regularly sending civilians into space. Fret not. If you can fork over the $27k fee, you can take a jet flight right to the edge of the Earth's atmosphere. Travel operator GAP Adventures debuted their Moscow-based Edge of the Earth package a little over a month ago, allowing regular Joes to see the curve of the Earth without having to endure all the education and grueling training of an astronaut or jet fighter.

"On a catwalk positioned just over the heads of the dancing crowd, a strange glittering being in a purple robe did tai chi movements with a glowing sword. It was replaced by a creepy harlequin in an 'Eyes Wide Shut' mask, who performed a vaudevillian soft-shoe. By the time the bikini-clad robots battled one another with flashing lights on cords ..." I'm sorry, I can't go on. That's just the lede for this New York Times piece on the madness of modern Moscow. If you don't believe them, see here for confirmation. [NYT]

Say what you will about the dictators, thugs, and strongmen of the world, but they usually have impeccable taste when it comes to lodging and fine dining. Recently, The New York Times' mag T Style ran a short feature that listed several former villas and country homes of some of the most evil men in history that have been turned into hotels. In the wake of pariah du jour Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to New York last week, we thought it would be the perfect time to expand on T's picks with our own lineup of hotel infamy. As you might expect, the establishments on this list are some of the most luxurious in the world, so there's no question you'll enjoy the amenities -- as long as you don't get too creeped out knowing you're crashing in a converted torture chamber or staying in a suite once enjoyed by a mass murderer.

The MisShapes may be over partywise, but some bizarre bastard child of their spirit lives on in Moscow's thoroughly odd New Rave scene. Particularly at mondo-club Solyanka, where our favorite Muscovite nightlife blogger, Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears, has secured the official clubblogging job. Solyanka wants to be all things to all people, serving up a dinner menu as well as art and fashion events. Mainly, they've got an expensive enough cover (about $20) and slight enough face control to let most hipsteroids inside, rather than keeping all but the richest and most nubile riffraff outside. Also be sure to sift through the pics at Look At Me, dubbed the Cobrasnake of Moscow.

Solyanka Blog [Official site]

Be careful next time you're buying cheesy souvenirs from street vendors in foreign cities. Last June Russian officials detained a Chilean tourist, Roxana Contreras, after she tried to bring old currency and army medals bought from a street vendor home with her to St. Louis where she is a student. They accused her of smuggling contraband because the old rubles and metals are deemed cultural treasures. On Friday a judge threw out the charge but still charged Contreras a $600 fine. Other items deemed cultural treasures in Russia include any art, antiques, and metals over 50 years old, even though they are widely available. These Russkies don't eff around, and removing such pieces can carry a sentence of seven years in some scary Moscow prison.

Tourist is Freed, Without Souveniers [NYTimes]

If you already had fun poking around Chairman Mao's secret caves underneath Beijing, wait till you get a load of Soviet Command Post N42. Gadling points out last month's Los Angeles Times visit to what's now called the Confrontation Cold War Museum, a marginally interesting facility now tarted up with Soviet regalia and various CCCP curious of questionable vintage. Even so, it has its charms -- though Mao's caves were much larger (designed to hold 40% of the population of Beijing), the Moscow caves are much deeper at 60 meters (Mao was satisfied with 10 meters).

Cold War-era chills. Tourists welcome. [via Gadling]
Confrontation Cold War Museum [Military Travel Club]

Our old pal at Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears has already taken advantage of Google Maps new address coverage of Moscow to create this excellent Google Map of downtown drinking that doesn't require oligarch levels of funding. More of this Russophillic goodness to come.

Mappin' Around [Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears]

Eventually we will all benefit from 24-like surveillance and will be able to zoom in on any image of any place around the world to catch nerve gas toting terrorists or just to check out the line at our favorite restaurant. Until then, settle for 360Cities, a site that provides 360 degree views of major attractions, public spaces, stores, and restaurants in seven cities around the world. The site probably has more up to date and extensive coverage of Moscow's main areas than the Kremlin and shows you an up close 360 degree views of random old plazas and the tourists that inhabit them in Venice, Prague, Vienna, and Belgrade. Eventually the site hopes to have enough images to aid users in everything from apartment and hotel searches to nightlife guides. And you thought the Hawaiian Tropic Zone webcam was cool! This is just like that but more international. And less nude.

360Cities [Official Site]

--Amanda Kludt

Popular with expats, horny businessmen, and drunks of all genders, the Real McCoy is a faux-speakeasy set in a basement off Kudrinskaya Square. This is the kind of place we'd almost never recommend Stateside (think Hogs 'n' Heifers or Coyote Ugly in New York), but there's something almost charming about this charmless concept when imported and somewhat mangled in Russia. But really, it's hard to mishandle the "concept" of a crap bar that pushes shots and liquor buckets, while encouraging wobbly and perhaps generally unphotogenic chicks to cavort on the bar. And the door policy is loose as well, mirroring the proclivities of the patrons.

The Real McCoy [via Guardian]

-- Chris Mohney

Earlier this year, nutty Russian designer Denis Simachev opened a Colette-like boutique in Moscow's Stoleshnikov Pereulok fashion realm. His eponymous store sells an eclectic assortment of bric-a-brac both vaguely local (cosmonaut helmets) and strangely foreign (airplane ejection seats). And of course you can buy his very expensive clothing too. The main attraction, however, may be the 24-hour bar on the lower level, which just opened this month and is already packing 'em in.

Simachyov Subverts Stoleshnikov [Element]
The Sim: Nightlife Edition [Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears]

-- Chris Mohney

[Photo: afisha.ru]

Like many cities filled with nouveau riche and the industries they love, Moscow has way more money than taste. The biggest, nicest hotels are indeed grand, but they tend to be restored Czarist palaces or entirely faceless biz hotels. One moderate exception is the Golden Apple, which proudly claims to be Moscow's first boutique hotel (est. 2004). Located not far from Red Square, the hotel's look is definitely modern, though some flourishes verge almost on Austin Powers parody -- check out the titular golden apple couch-pod in the lobby. The rooms are consistent with the decor from the public spaces, going for general minimalism trimmed with vaguely absurdist design flourishes. An unremarkable onsite restaurant serves guests too hurried for neighborhood foraging, and a sauna steams your collectivist cares away. Rates begin at 8,820 RUB per night.

Golden Apple Hotel [via Telegraph]

-- Chris Mohney

If you needed any more proof that Moscow has the most out-of-control club scene in the world, look no further than the new Rai (Bolotnaya Naberejnaya 9). As reviewed in various places and further documented in the excellent nightlife blog Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears, Rai (the name translates to "Paradise") is split into three venues. There's the Heaven bar, then there's the much larger main space, which is Rai proper, plus a side event space called Elysium. Despite the divine names, decor tends toward the outlandishly devilish -- sculptures of naked succubi mating with serpents, leering gargoyles, fey unicorns, et cetera. The dance floor is huge, the sound system is massive, the crowd is young-rich-gorgeous, and the face control is absolutely totalitarian. And of course, drink prices are astronomical. Both Rai proper and Elysium are reportedly heavily booked for private events, so check ahead to make sure you won't be squeezed into the relatively smaller Heaven, if you can make it inside at all.

Andy and the Chocolate Factory [Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears]

-- Chris Mohney

Last year, Moscow was deemed the world's most expensive city, surpassing four-year record-holder Tokyo. The recent oil boom and proliferation of business and organized crime nurtured a growing nouveau riche class in the city. Though there is a bit of a trickle-down effect going on, the 25 billionaires and a large number of Russia's 88,000 millionaires live starkly different lives from the average citizen, well beyond the usual distinctions of wealthy and busted. After the jump, our guide to Moscow, as experienced by the rich man and his poorer brother.

From the frigid loins of Mother Russia, a new magazine recently emerged called Russia! about Russia! but for Americans! Our big sister Gawker checked it out yesterday and concluded, "Informative!" We heartily concur, although we'd be very very very interested in who is financing the venture since it seems a boosterish. Nationalist shilling notwithstanding, the mag has a ton features for any Russophile. There's a tale of exploring Moscow subways, a correct hatchet job on Gary Shteyngart and a list of "The Russia! YouTube playlist" from which the above Basement Jaxx video was taken. According to the mag, it "is admirable for its ethinic and social accuracy." Well, if that's the case, all I can say is Russia. No, wait a minute. I meant Russia!

Update: We just talked to publisher Ilya Merenzon who informed us that no, the magazine isn't funded in any way by the Russian Tourism board but is a commercial publication. Of course, Ilya says, the board is happy about the magazine and bought advertising but that is where the relationship end.

Russia!
Reading Russia! [Gawker]

Previously: Moscow: Two Tapas Town, Glorious Capitalist Revolution Brings Thugs to Moscow's Artists and Safe Taxis to Moscow's Women, Not One For Subtlety Monkey Poops on Swastika

Andrew Moore's traveled throughout Russia, often incognito, from 2000 to 2004, documenting the decaying ruins of Communism. He says in a stellar interview with Joerg Colmberg, "By the time I started working in Russia in 2000, the Communist system itself had been mostly dismantled, but the mentality was pretty much the same as before, in that foreigners were generally viewed with some suspicion as well as with a certain degree of envy." To that end, Moore often pretended to be the assistant to his Russian guide, who in turn pretended to be a photographer.

Andrew Moore

Previous Pics of the Day: Freedegree Over the 25th Story, Paper Dolls, Paper Dolls, Magician We Think, Heads of State, Jeff Wall, Armory Show, Elevate Me Later, Final Resting Place, Don't Steal in Oaxaca, The Watchtower, On the Sixth Day , Liberal Library Slant, Paris is the New Pluto, Fat Kid

Used to be, if you didn't somehow stumble across Tapa de Comida on Moscow's Trubnaya Ulitsa, a tiny tapas bar, you'd be S.O.L. when it came to small Spanish plates. Well, stumble no longer. As the Moscow Time reports, a second tapas place has opened up serving Muscovites seemingly ravenous appetite for prawns, sausage and shrimp. The new restaurant, called simple La Tapa, is tucked into the basement of a massive entertainment complex, is a bit more expensive and a bit less good but, hey, you're on the Russian steppe, what do you want? According to the paper, who clearly prefer the first bar, "La Tapas is neither a cute little bar, nor does it have a vast selection of wine and its prices sure can be beat. It does, however, have a hefty selection of tapas -- for hefty prices." A review as complimentary as "You're pretty. Not the prettiest, and not even really pretty at all, but you're the only one who will sleep with me." But sometimes the truth hurts and honesty's a good thing, no? Even in Russia.

A Complete List of All the Tapas Restaurants in Moscow
La Tapa
Tapa De Comida

[Photo: Moscow Times]

Previously: Glorious Capitalist Revolution Brings Thugs to Moscow's Artists, Daily Candy is Opiate for the Masses, Nope, Still Depressing, Not One For Subtlety, Monkey Poops On Swastika, Airport 06

David Chang: He's One Bad Momofuku: Men want to be him, at least one woman ants to sleep with him. No, not Bruni. Another woman.

The Best Chinese Massage in New York City: Non sensual

The Best Handjobs in New York City: Sensual

Adult Fried Finder: Best Fried Foods in New York, Non sensual

Philadelphia's Next Mayor Might Be An Alien: And what's worse, he doesn't pay his parking tickets, and he's a thief

The Harbor Room: The Coziest Little Dive Bar Evuh: Firm yet Charming Stool, Nice Yet Smelly Drunks

Meat Me in Boston: Anti-Ash Wednesday Meat Fest: Turn the Other Pork Cheek, Eat Adam's Rib and Braise the Lamb

Moscow Hate Artists and Love Women: But what of Women Artists? Eh Mixed Feelings

Dick Cavett Is the Craziest Dick I Know: And trust me, we know a ton of crazy dicks

Puerta Cerrada Redux: The Best Food Is Behind Closed Doors

Travvies: Vote Early. Vote Often.

Though women may be safer and Bill Buford happy as a clam, Russian authorities were not to pleased with the culture jamming, anti-(ish) tourism work of artist Mr. Evil. English Russia, one of our favorite Muscovite sites that reported on this story, is a wormhole into the Russian psyche. And trust us, it's like getting to watch a different car wreck every single day from the safety of a distant overpass. Today, the writer directs us to the works of said Mr. Evil, Moscow-based internet artist who, allegedly, recently got paid a visit by his friendly neighborhood thugs, er, police telling him to lay off promoting Russian tourism. His work reflects a uniquely Russian perspective on McDonald's, Ikea, and uh, Diet Coke. Hint: this perspective has to do with Nazis, suicide, and schizophrenia, in that order.

English Russia

[Photo: Mr. Evil Text: Christy Quirk]

Previously: Daily Candy is Opiate for the Masses, Nope, Still Depressing, Not One For Subtlety, Monkey Poops On Swastika, Airport 06